A Study on the Walkability of Zijingang East Campus of Zhejiang University: Based on Network Distance Walk Score

Abstract

Due to the generally poor planning of new university campuses in China today, students living in these places normally do not walk as often as they should, and with studies showing the significant impact of walking on physical health and productivity, there is an urgent need to improve university walkability. Walkability is a valuable tool for assessing the level of support for walking in a region, and there are few studies on walkability on university campuses. In this paper, we used a network distance-based Walk Score to evaluate and analyze the walkability of the Zijingang east campus, Zhejiang University. We improved some of the parameters of the Walk Score based on the actual travel characteristics of the students, formed a new calculation method based on a geographic information system (GIS) applicable to the university campus, and evaluated the applicability of this method. The results show that the new method can reflect the actual walking experience and provide a helpful design reference for designers. We also found that optimizing the distribution of facilities is very effective using the feature of the attenuation function.

Impact of Subjective and Objective Factors on Bus Travel Intention

“…The measurement variables of the bus travel environment are derived and identified by using insights from extant research results. Five measurement variables, which are bus-stop accessibility [ 1 , 29 , 30 ], functional diversity [ 31 , 32 ], road connectivity [ 33 , 34 ], distance to commercial center [ 35 , 36 ], and the distance to an urban center [ 37 , 38 ], were selected and described. Geographic data were obtained from the surrounding residential area.…”

Comparisons of Built Environment Correlates of Walking in Urban and Suburban Campuses: A Case Study of Tianjin, China

“…Studies in the walkability domain mainly reflect in the proposed various metrics the evaluation of the walkability of the campus environment. These include objective GIS-based quantitative tools such as the optimized campus Walk Score (WS) [43,44] and instruments measured by field audits [45,46]. For the former, Zhang et al and Mu's team proposed the WS method for evaluating campus walkability by combining students' facility usage needs and campus BE characteristics [43,44].…”

“…These include objective GIS-based quantitative tools such as the optimized campus Walk Score (WS) [43,44] and instruments measured by field audits [45,46]. For the former, Zhang et al and Mu's team proposed the WS method for evaluating campus walkability by combining students' facility usage needs and campus BE characteristics [43,44]. For the latter, focusing on the impact of street furniture and accessibility on the walkability of campus streets, Asadi-Shekari's team proposed a field audit evaluation system called Pedestrian Level of Service and validated its rationality [45].…”

University Campus as a Complex Pedestrian Dynamic Network: A Case Study of Walkability Patterns at Texas Tech University

“…University campuses comprising buildings, outdoor spaces, and support elements, akin to mini-cities, require well-designed pedestrian pathways for overall efficiency [7,8]. The campus serves as a pivotal aspect of students' college experiences, hosting diverse activities [9] and offering various amenities that promote active lifestyles, influencing students' physical activity patterns and travel behavior [10]. The presence of pedestrian-friendly pathways adhering to established norms and promoting overall functionality and sustainability, plays a vital role in facilitating student mobility and connecting key destinations within the campus environment, such as parking lots, bus stops, lecture halls, libraries, and offices.…”

“…Old and new campus spatial organizations were compared in terms of accessibility and connectivity criteria for campus walkability through video recording and observation in [8]. Other studies compared old and new campus organizations by creating a new walkability tool that optimizes the walk score method by including facilities' usage frequency, cure of time-decay block length, and intersection density [21], or introduce a network distance-based walk score, a new calculation method based on GIS, effectively reflecting the actual walking experience and providing valuable design references for campus improvements [9]. Several studies have focused on assessing campus layout and spatial organization [19][20][21].…”